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After my fingerprints were taken, I told Laney that Francie and I would walk back to school. We had things to discuss. No matter what was happening in my personal life, I still had to answer to Francie about the marathon. I knew she was going to be really mad once she had time to think about it.
We walked for a few blocks in silence. Then she said, “You asked your mom, and she said no. Tell me the rest of it.”
“It wasn’t quite that simple.” I told her what had happened with Jess. Was it possible that it had only been the evening before? “When I got home, I looked for my money so I could give some of it to Jess. But the money had disappeared from the jewelry box where I kept it. My mom came in, and we looked and looked, but we couldn’t find it.” I fought back tears. “She asked what it was for, and I told her, and she said I wasn’t going to go to the marathon, money or no money.”
“Wow.” Francie sounded stunned. “So that’s it? It’s over? Just like that?”
“No way. I really want to go. But she won’t change her mind no matter how much I beg. I know her. So I’ll have to run away to do it. And I’ll need to get the money from somewhere else if I don’t find mine. I don’t want to let you down.”
We walked in silence toward the waterfront, where there was a park. When Francie finally spoke, her voice sounded small and strained. “Listen, I don’t think the marathon’s important enough for you to run away to do it. And you don’t need to feel responsible for me. I really, really want us to do Boston together, but I can do it without you. Maybe Jess will run with me.”
“It’s not just you. It’s the difference between going to college and not.”
“But running away is dangerous. You could get hurt or even killed. Too many crazy people are out there, looking for young girls to murder. There are other ways to get to college. We’ve talked about this. You’re good. If you don’t run the Boston Marathon, it doesn’t mean you’ll have to be a farm worker for the rest of your life.”
We stopped, and I turned to look at her. I was so weary that I thought I might fall down where I stood. “It’s my decision, don’t you think?” I hesitated. “Would you loan me the money so I could take a plane or a bus to Boston?”
She leaned toward me. “I’m not ready to drop the subject of you running away,” she said, her voice loud and intense. “Even if you live through it, you will get in big trouble with your parents. And I’ll get in trouble for knowing about it and not telling anybody.” She sighed and shook her head. “Besides that, I don’t have the money to loan you, and there’s no way my mom would take you with us without your mom’s permission. So she wouldn’t loan you the money, either.”
My body and soul went numb. I had never felt so alone or so dejected. We started walking again. My feet couldn’t feel the ground beneath me.
Francie said in a conciliatory tone, “Listen, why don’t we think about this for a while before we make any decisions? Meanwhile, I’ll see if Jess can come with me.”
We got to the park and sat down on one of the benches. We watched a pontoon boat full of old people shove off from the dock and putt-putt away.
Francie asked, “Who do you think took your money?”
“I don’t know, but Mom thinks it was Dad. A long time ago, he was accused of stealing some money, but it was never proved. And he’s been acting weird recently, smoking pot and drinking and staying out all hours, playing music.”
“Wow.”
I knew she had to think that my family members were major losers. Including me. I thought the same thing.
“Why didn’t you keep your money in a savings account at the bank instead of in your jewelry box?” She spoke loudly and sounded like she was talking to an immigrant who didn’t know how things worked in this country.
“I don’t know.” It had never once occurred to me to open a bank account. Dealing with banks wasn’t something people in my family did, as a general rule. We hid our money and pulled it out as needed, because we paid cash for everything. And we moved so often that it wasn’t worth opening bank accounts everywhere. Apparently, that wasn’t how “normal” people lived. But I didn’t want to tell that to Francie.
It seemed I was going to lose my best friend after all. “I’ll walk home. See you later.” I started the four-mile trek to my house, feeling like warmed-over dog turd.
I’d only gone a few steps when Francie caught up with me and grabbed my shoulder. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. None of this is your fault. Nobody sane would think that their own father would steal their money. I don’t know how you got to be so normal, coming from your family. Of course, maybe the answer is that you didn’t come from that family. Anyway, I don’t know whether I’ll go to the marathon without you or not. I’ll have to talk to my parents.”
I shook off her hand and kept walking.
“Faye, please don’t give up hope.”
Speaking through the tears, I said, “Tell Jess I’m sorry, would you? I hope he understands. I’m sorry about everything.”
Francie turned back toward the school, and I picked up one foot and then the other, heading for home.
* * *
ALL WEEKEND, MOM CRASHED dishes around, and Dad stomped in and out of the house without saying a word. They were both as mad as I’d ever seen them, although they didn’t yell at each other in my presence. I went to work on Saturday, as usual, but I didn’t have the energy to go on Sunday’s long run with Francie, so I stayed in my room and listened to the slowest, most depressing music I could find.
Detective Hunt had promised not to contact my parents about my being adopted, but I wondered if he had broken his word and that was why my parents were so angry. Their argument probably had to do with my missing money, but I wasn’t sure. Neither of them said anything to me, so I tried to stop worrying.
On Monday morning, I got up early and, as usual, went running with Francie and Jess. I couldn’t imagine not continuing with my routine, no matter how pointless it seemed. If I didn’t run, I would go crazy. I met my friends on the road outside Francie’s house, and the three of us went for a seven-mile run before school. Just like normal. Except that nothing was normal anymore.
Jess had a black eye, his bruises had turned green, and there were stitches in his cheek. But he seemed to be in good spirits. He gave me a hug when he saw me and murmured, “I heard what happened. I’m so sorry, Faye.”
I straightened up to my full height of five foot seven. “No, I’m sorry, Jess. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have gotten beat up.”
He looked at me as if I had gone insane. “Girl, that wasn’t about you. The same thing most likely would have happened if I’d been alone, only it would’ve been much worse. Besides, you saved the day. No, don’t trouble yourself about that.” He sighed and looked away. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It won’t always be that way. Dr. King’s dream of equality is still alive, even if he isn’t.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just stared at him. Francie punched me on the arm. “Even if you can’t go to the marathon, I’m glad you’re running with us now. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” I bit back tears and started jogging. The others followed me. Dark clouds hid the sunrise, and palm trees swished in a gusty wind. The rain hadn’t started yet, but it wouldn’t be long. I didn’t care. The three of us had agreed to run in all kinds of weather, as long as there wasn’t lightning. And those clouds weren’t likely to hold lightning.
That particular morning, we ran down the streets of Valencia, which were mostly dark and deserted at six in the morning. I was running tight—arms close to my chest, shoulders raised.
Francie asked, “You all right?”
“I guess so.”
Our feet hit the asphalt in unison. The rain held off. By our third mile, I’d loosened up. Although rain still threatened, the sky had brightened. We kept a steady pace, one that we could talk through. Francie and I were running astride, with Jess behind us a little way.
Francie said, “Hey, there’s a band from Tampa playing at the community center this weekend. Jeremy and I are going. Do you want to double date?”
Her warm tone told me she wasn’t going to dump me, even after our argument. I grinned and accepted her gift of friendship. “Sure. I’ll talk to Reese about it.”
We ran for a while in silence. Then she said, “I’ve got news. Kyle quit college, and he’s going into the marines. He’s home for a couple weeks before he reports to boot camp. My parents are having hissy fits, especially Mom.”
“Wow.” I tried to remember the last time I’d heard from Kyle. A month before, at least. I had a hard time thinking about anything beyond my own crisis, but it was clear I wasn’t the only person in the universe who was struggling. “Well, tell him good luck for me.” I hesitated. “Is he back with Linda?”
“Of course.” She sounded disgusted. “He’ll probably go to Vietnam, so I hope she doesn’t break up with him again, at least until he comes back.”
We ran for a while without talking. Then she asked in a gentle tone, “How are you really?”
I bit my lip. “The money hasn’t turned up. I don’t think it will. My parents are fighting worse than ever. I don’t know if it’s about the money or something else, and I don’t dare ask. Oh, and the nightmares are back. It’s the same dream, about being in the dark. I’m sleeping with the light on now, though. When I wake up in the night, I think about running, and I stop shaking. So it’s not as bad as it used to be.” We maneuvered around a giant pothole.
Francie said, “I’m really sorry. But maybe Detective Hunt will come up with some information that will change everything. Don’t lose hope.”
“All right.”
The clouds burst open, and raindrops soaked us before we could even think of putting up our hoods. I’d always loved running in a warm rain. It washed my problems clean. In spite of everything that was wrong in my life, I sprinted ahead, arms held out at shoulder height and head arched back so raindrops could mingle with teardrops.